The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.

‘We’ve not done well on the propaganda war’: PM attributes drop in support from Israel in US to social media disinformation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asked about polls showing rapidly collapsing support for Israel among Americans, particularly the younger generations, since the war in Gaza began, and attributes it to social media and to effective disinformation campaigns waged by states he does not name.

Speaking to CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” the premier touts the many steps Israel has taken to get civilians in Gaza and Lebanon out of harm’s way amid the war, but says campaigns against the Jewish state on social media have been very effective.

According to a Pew survey published last month, 60% of U.S. adults viewed Israel unfavorably, up nearly 20 points in four years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the rise of social media is a major reason for this decline. https://t.co/QP4ESNtjGq pic.twitter.com/miCEwFYLX3 — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

According to a Pew survey published last month, 60% of U.S. adults viewed Israel unfavorably, up nearly 20 points in four years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the rise of social media is a major reason for this decline. https://t.co/QP4ESNtjGq pic.twitter.com/miCEwFYLX3

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Sixty percent of US adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, and 59% have little or no confidence in Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs, according to a Pew survey conducted in March. Both percentages were up seven percentage points from a year earlier.

Netanyahu says deteriorating support for Israel in the United States “correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media.”

He says several countries, which he does not identify, have “basically manipulated” social media in a way that “hurt us badly,” though he personally does not believe in censorship of social networks.

“Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war,” he concedes. “We have to fight back against these lies, this propaganda, with the only weapon we have. It’s the truth. I’m trying to do that now and will try to do that in a much greater effort because we’ve left the battlefield to our enemies.”

Netanyahu says he believes Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, wields less authority than predecessor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, despite the fact that he has not been seen or heard since he was appointed to succeed his slain father in early March.

Asked for his opinion about the physical condition and operational influence of the younger Khamenei during an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Netanyahu says: “I think he is alive. What his condition is, it’s hard to say, you know? He’s holed up in some bunker or in some secret place.”

The premier says Mojtaba is “trying to exert his authority,” but assesses this authority to be lesser compared to that which had been wielded by predecessor Ali Khamenei.

Netanyahu says that before Oct. 7, he was seen as ‘perhaps the........

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